Years ago, during a rough patch in life, I started seeing a behavioral psychologist to handle some anxiety issues and insomnia. Component of his sessions often consisted of a guided meditation, where he'd talk with me in gentle tones while I lay on the sofa, breathing deeply. The meditations were probably a good 20 minutes roughly, and frankly, I wondered only if these sessions were only a method for my therapist to get a break from hearing my life non-sense, but I came across them extremely relaxing and left later on feeling calm and refreshed, two emotions that didn't come normally to me.

After one session, my therapist complimented me on my breathing. He observed that I could sluggish my breath down and take very long, deep breaths that helped me reach a different condition. Higher consciousness? Maybe. Calm and relaxed? Definitely, at least during and for a little following the meditation. He asked easily had learned this someplace. I told him about the years I acquired spent taking Kundalini Yoga exercise from a prominent LA teacher. It wasn't daily schooling, just a class or two a week with a bunch of other learners in a studio or in the instructor's living area.

"Breath of Fire" (very rapid in and away breath through the nasal area and managed by the diaphragm) and techniques that included filling your lungs with as much air as possible (or blowing ALL the air away of your lungs and keeping them empty - generally much harder), and then doing yoga while holding the air flow in or out is definitely the type of training that may improve breathing technique. There have been also gong meditations, lying on your back, eyes shut, and breathing deeply while the instructor bangs on a big gong, that you hear along with feel (sound waves) throughout the meditation.

My therapist then suggested, that mainly because a therapeutic massage therapist and massage therapy instructor, I might also train people how to breathe. So, with that in mind, here are some thoughts for anybody who want to add a meditation practice into your daily life to reap its proven positive benefits, including:

· When to meditate and how often

· Creating an excellent mediation environment

· What you ought to meditate

· Mantra or no mantra?

· Deep breathing techniques

· Clearing your brain (what to think about... or not)

· Benefits of Mediation

· "Mindfulness." What does it really mean?

1. PICK A GOOD TIME AND START SMALL

Did you know that the Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree (ficus religiosa in Latin, which appears like a Hermoine spell from Harry Potter) with the purpose of staying there until he achieved enlightenment? How long he actually sat isn't entirely clear, but might have been weeks. Without food.

Good news: you don't need to do that.

Start small. Most people who meditate "religiously" (it is spiritual, sometimes, but not necessarily religious, although also the Big 3 religions refer to silent or personal prayer as "meditation") do so in the morning upon waking (plus some do, in truth, get up at 4:30 for "sadna," a pre-dawn meditation practiced by some Sikhs, when the spiritual energy is meant to b especially solid), and again in the late afternoon or early night (before or after dinner is great).

Yoga breathing before bed is a good method to relax, but a complete meditation right before bed isn't advisable because that may trick your body and brain into thinking you've slept enough currently. Even though early morning meditation appear to be great for many, be realistic about yourself. Don't make yourself get up at 5 or 6 to meditate if you hate getting up early. Do it when it's convenient and easy for you, and after that you'll be more likely to maintain doing it!

For meditating for weekly (or more) without water and food like the Buddha, this isn't recommended for beginners or even the experienced. For most people, 15-20 a few minutes is a great session, but even five minutes is beneficial, plus some long-time practitioners will do longer mediations. Getting started, five moments is a great number because it's easy to accomplish and can also provide a novice a taste of the positive benefits. Try that for some days, or weekly, then move to ten minutes, 15 minutes and finally 20 moments. For me, and most meditators, 20 minutes seems to be the sweet spot.

2. BEST Areas TO MEDITATE

Experienced meditators can meditate in an airport, a subway station, or a Trump advertising campaign rally. But many prefer a noiseless, not-too-bright location. Light is not a concern, but many look for a darkened or dimly lit room (candlelight is great) more calming. Of program, the Buddha meditated outside, and many enjoy doing this on a stump in the woods or a rock on a mountain top or the sand on the seaside. Whatever the locale, comprehensive tranquil (or soothing music or character sounds) is best.

Thich Nhat Hanh famously says he does walking meditations in airports and on crowded city streets to the bemusement of the locals. Some meditation designs say to keep the eyes slightly open and focus on a space a few inches in front of your eye. I'm of the "eye's wide shut," college. Experiment for yourself.

3. EQUIPMENT FOR MEDITATION

No special devices is needed. All you have to is you and a place to sit or lie down. Most meditate sitting up with a good, grounded posture. Prone is fine, although it is certainly easy to drift off in this manner, and sleeping is not meditating. Deep breathing isn't a nap. Not that there's anything wrong with a nap.

You might such as a pillow to take a seat on. Some meditators prefer to sit up direct with an excellent posture, while others lean against a wall or cushion behind them, and might even meditate in a chair or sofa. Some Buddhists make use of a set, cushioned mat, and on that another pillow that's shaped kind of like a chocolate level cake, maybe 8-10 inches across. Sitting upon this cushion, with legs crossed on the mat or in a kneeling can feel very stable, position and comfortable.

Some sit in lotus or half lotus (cross legged with one ankle on the contrary knee for fifty percent lotus or both ankles about the contrary knee for full lotus). This is not possible for many, and actually those who can sit this way will find that after a couple of minutes the foot gets unpleasant or falls asleep. The primary things to achieve in seated position are comfort, which means you aren't distracted by pain, and good posture. Whatever position allows this, including lying down, is fine.

Candles, incense and music can enhance meditation. If you would like music, it is best to pay attention to something non-melodic, like chimes or bells or random flute and nature sounds. Or nothing. Music with words or melody or rhythm can be distracting and really should be avoided. Nature sounds, like the ocean or a stream or rain can be wonderful, especially if you live in an urban region with traffic noises, sirens, people's music, garbage trucks, etc., because the sounds might help mute the environmental aural clutter.

A great purchase is a kitchen timer. You can also use a timer on your own smart phone (or even your dumb phone if you don't have a smart one). I take advantage of a kitchen timer that I got before smart phones were something. I punch in the quantity of time I would like to meditate (usually 20 minutes, although I put in a minute to permit myself time to settle in), and that is it. Why a timer? Then you won't need to check the clock. And when you start out, you'll want to check the clock a whole lot, and when you do, after feeling like you've meditated for a half-hour and appearance to see it's been under four mins, you'll see what's so great in regards to a timer.

4. MANTRA OR NO MANTRA?

Good question. I've tried both. Kundalini practitioners use, among additional mantras, "ong namo gurudev namo," which means "I bow to the teacher within me." I love that since it feels nonreligious. And there are tons of others. You don't have to know what they mean, because it's really about the word or thinking about the mantra. The sound. The repetition. It helps you obtain in the right mindset. Not knowing the meaning is most likely better. Those reared on praying in Hebrew or Latin might agree.

Remember: in case you are a spiritual person and don't feel comfortable taking part in religious ceremonies apart from your own, mantras are not prayers. Some do appear to be prayers, however. If that is an concern for you, either look for a mantra that is completely secular, or repeat a short prayer from your own religious practice.

Some orgainized meditation actions or groups have been around for many years and cost a good deal of cash. One had gone up to almost $2,500 (to really get your personalized mantra and training), however now is similar to $1000. I know those who have carried out this for 40 years and swear by it. Howard Stern, King of All Mass media, is a life-long practitioner (following his parents' lead) and says it's among the best things he ever did and he practices each day. If you possess the money and need to go that path, great. If not, execute a Google search and I'm guessing you can simply find a mantra hack you can use, for free. Don't inform anyone I told you this.

I never payed for a mantra. I've chanted with people of the Buddhist Church of America (associated with the Buddhist Church of Japan), and they chant through the entire meditation (the well-known "nam-myoho-renge-kyo"). It was a nice experience, sitting in a room with 20 people at someone's house, chanting, but it wasn't my glass of green tea extract. I found it too much work to maintain the chanting and it didn't help me focus the way I liked. So I never went back, even though the people were great and the after-meditation refreshments were delicious.

But you don't need to be Buddhist to meditate, and many Buddhist groupings welcome practitioners of most faiths. While I sometimes make use of a mantra to begin with, my main mantra is usually my breath, which I will describe next. If you want a mantra, the books of the great Buddhist monk and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh are full of what he calls "gathas" or small poems that work well. Most were written in Vietnamese, but he offers translated them to French and English. My favorite also uses breathing, and goes like this:

Sucking in, I calm my own body

Breathing out, I smile

Sucking in, I dwell in today's moment

Breathing out, I know it is an excellent moment

Nice, right? Not a prayer. You do that with in-breath and out-breath for a few minutes. No need to state (or think) this through the entire meditation. Ultimately, you can shorten it to "In - relaxed, out - smile, in - present moment, out- wonderful minute." And follow the breath and smile when you say it.

In fact, Thich Nhat Hanh highlights that a lot of renditions of the Buddha show him smiling in meditation, and that you need to often smile when meditating. Not merely does this relax the muscles in that person, but it also makes you feel good. Yes, smiling even though you feel bad enables you to feel good. He also says meditation is wonderful so you should smile. If you cannot smile when meditating, when is it possible to?

5. BREATHING TECHNIQUE

This brings us to the most important thing, breathing. Meditation is definitely breathing; breathing can be meditation. Breathing is taking in air and then letting it out. You breathe by contracting your diaphragm. Outbreath happens when your diaphragm relaxes. The elasticity of your lungs and diaphragm brings them back again to an at-rest position, pressing out the air. The body does this by itself (so you can keep breathing in your sleep), but you can control it to an extent. What you want to do in meditation or deep breathing is gradual the breath down and ingest as much air as feasible https://en.search.wordpress.com/?src=organic&q=psychic without straining. You want a deep breath, not a strained breath.

Sitting (or lying) comfortably, take slow, lengthy breaths, but don't press it. Keep it relaxed. Breathe only through your nasal area (of course, if you have a cold, mouth-breathing is fine, and some meditation techniques demand exhalation through the mouth area). Use your normal breath to start out, and keep raising the length of each breath by firmly taking the air in a little much deeper with each inhale. When exhaling, perform the same. Slow down the exhale and make an effort to let out the majority of your breath before inhaling again. Remember, don't press or stress or control. Just deepen and lengthen the breath.

This could be done while stating a mantra if you work with one (breathe in and exhale the mantra), or just while thinking the mantra, or gatha, in your thoughts. Eventually, you will just be breathing and not even taking into consideration the mantra, or around anything.

The best thing to accomplish (which also helps clear your brain) is to focus on two things: your abdomen pushing out with each inhale and attracting with the exhale (right around and slightly below your navel, the area known as "dan-tien" in some Eastern teachings, which also just happens to be the anatomical center of your body), and also focus on the cool feeling of air entering your nostrils near the tip of your nose.

Focusing on these two physical sensations will keep you from holding on too long to thoughts that come and go during the meditation. Thoughts like, "do I remember to buy milk" (or soy milk if you are a Vegan). And talking about thoughts...

6. CLEARING THE MIND

We are creatures of thought. We think at all times. Even asleep. Even when doing something absorbing (like viewing a movie or talking to a friend), we may suddenly remember we remaining the stove on. This is part to be human.

Contrary to popular perception, meditation or deep breathing doesn't require a clear mind. Thoughts and concepts will come to you while meditating. Some may even be inspirational. You could get an idea for popular song, in which case, stop meditating, write down the song, and begin again. Don't quit a top-40 hit single because you're a disciplined meditator!

Whenever a thought like "probably I'll have Chinese food tonight" or "My coworker Michael is such an a-hole" enters, that's fine. Acknowledge the thought, hold it to your center, and let it go. Back again to your breath. To the feeling of your stomach rising and dropping, the cool air getting into your nostrils. The idea will go away as surely as it emerged. And another will get into to be acknowledged and released. That is portion of the process. In the event that you get trapped on a thought, go back to your breath. Whether it's very difficult, try counting your breaths, 1 to 10, and going in invert. If you're doing a good job, you may never get completely to 10. That's great. Just start again.

Once you've been doing this for a while, you will find that the mind does very clear, that thoughts come less frequently and are of shorter duration. You may be in a position to have that experience of "leaving your body," where you are feeling exactly as though you are outside of yourself, searching down from above or from over the area at yourself meditating. Another encounter is of heading deep within yourself, to feel the center of your brain. It's almost just like a control middle, deep within the mind, where your consciousness resides. Is usually this a genuine place? Probably not. But it feels like it. It's like riding in a space capsule in the universe of your consciousness. Whoa.

7. BENEFITS OF MEDITATION AND YOGA BREATHING

There have been many studies worldwide that show meditation and deep breathing to be extremely beneficial. The effects and benefits become more pronounced and profound cumulatively, as the practice builds on itself. Just know that the benefits have already been shown to greatly help with hypertension, insomnia, major depression, anxiety, eating disorders, pain management, and even side-effects of cancer treatments, rehabilitation and as well as addiction. And that's a very short list.

Some meditation teachers including Thich Nhat Hanh encourage visitors to form a sangha or community of some individuals who may meditate together. Guided meditation classes are available around. Yoga studios often have yoga exercise classes or guided sessions, as do many universities and homes of worship. For beginners, meditating with an organization could be instructive, enjoyable, and much easier than starting alone.

Another way to go is guided meditation apps or CDs or DVDs or downloads. There are great (instructive and guided) on YouTube. Please see Assets, below, for one example.

Just remember, there is no one way to meditate. Perform what feels right to you. You'll only do it frequently if it makes sense to you and feels good. Where you perform it, alone or with people, enough time of day or night time, music or no music, mantra or no mantra, sitting or lying down -- go together with your instincts and emotions. Whatever is most effective, is best.

8. MINDFULNESS

Currently, the most over-used term in the "full being" world is "mindfulness." Everything is mindful these days, from purchasing to uncoupling. Or is normally that conscious? Regardless of. It's a bit much. There's even a "mindful dating" sight. Aaaauuugghhh! I first heard the word in the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh (a long time ago), and that for me may be the real meaning. It means being present. Right here. Now. Aware. Focused on what you're doing.

If you are eating an orange, keep an eye on your skin as you peel it, the consistency of the fruit, the juiciness, the sweetness as you bite, the experience of the little sacs of juice on your own tongue. Chew slowly and for a long period to thoroughly grind the fruit and taste it before swallowing.

Thich Nhat Hanh says, if you're washing the laundry, WASH THE DISHES. Focus on what you're carrying out, what it feels as though, and doing it well. Don't clean the dishes and consider what's on TV later. Just wash the dishes. That is mindfulness. And if you are mindful plenty of, you can meditate WHILE cleaning the dishes or eating the orange. This is the accurate meaning of mindfulness.

This is simply not work. It really is supposed to be enjoyable. It is supposed to feel good. It isn't a chore. It isn't like "oh I better workout today or I'll obtain fat," or a thing that we need to perform rather than want to do. So smile when you perform it, and try to do it every day, or twice a day.

You need not spend too much time. And you may find after a brief time period (it varies with the average person, but I'd say within per month) that it's simple to do and that you don't wish to miss it. And when that occurs, you will understand why so many people worldwide have made meditation component of their day to day routine, and why therefore many doctors, therapists and others involved in physical and emotional wellness feel that meditation is among the best ways to achieve top rated psychic near me accurate wellness and peace.